22 FEBRUARY 2018

Paulley outpoints Kanofski in Canberra Thriller

Matthew Paulley wins: Tim Barry

By Paul Upham in Canberra: In a see-sawing battle which thrilled the crowd, a cut and bloody Matthew Paulley won a unanimous ten round points decision over Jason Kanofski for the IBO Asia Pacific welterweight title on Friday night at the National Convention Centre in Canberra, Australia. The exciting battle headlined a Fox Sports’ Fenech Fight Night promoted by Grange Old School Boxing.

“That was a good tough fight,” Paulley said, after the win. “I knew Jason was a good fighter, but he surprised me a little bit. He was polished and he fought really well and he gave have me a hard time.”

30 year-old Paulley 18-5-5 (7) started sharp and fast and troubled Kanofski in the opening round with his fast hands and crisp combinations. In round 2, Paulley was cut over the right eye and hit the canvas courtesy of a right hand from Kanofski. “It wasn’t a huge knockdown, he caught me clean and I went down,” Paulley later explained.

24 year-old Kanofski 11-2-3 (2) marched forward confidently and looked to be in complete control in round 3, as he battered Paulley on the ropes. Back in his corner, the Grange Old School Boxing training team led by Graham Shaw urged Paulley to make adjustments and the skilled boxer executed perfectly. While he sustained another cut over his left eye, a gutsy Paulley controlled the next four rounds as Kanofski’s confidence and forward aggression disappeared.

With the minutes ticking away, Kanofski found his offence again in rounds 8 and 9, resulting in some crowd pleasing two-way exchanges, both men landing hard shots. Paulley determinedly won the tenth and final round with cleaner landing punches, his own face awash with blood.

Judge Les Fear 97-94, Judge Kevin Hogan 98-96 and Judge Bernie McMahon all scored the fight for Paulley, but interestingly carded 11 even rounds between them. This writer agreed with the result, scoring the match for Paulley 95-94.

“Grange Old School Boxing do a great job promoting me and I’ll fight whoever they want me to,” said Paulley. “I don’t usually do match-making, but to Jason, if he wants a rematch and they are happy to put it on, I’ll be happy to take him on. I think he deserves another shot with his performance tonight.”

On the undercard, Kariz Kariuki, Robert Medley, Tyrone Tongia and Zac Awad all recorded dominant stoppage wins.